Yale University Study Reveals COVID Vaccines Have Saved 8,300 Lives and Averted Thousands of Cases

 by Yehudit Garmaise

     Yale University has just come out with a study that reveals that New York City’s vaccination program, which has so far vaccinated more than 9.6 million residents, has already 8,300 lives, averted more than 4,400 hospitalizations, and a quarter of a million cases, said Dr. Alison Galvani, the director of the Yale Center for Infectious Disease Modelling and Analysis.

     “This success [of the vaccination program] is particularly noteworthy given the emergence of more transmissible variants, including the Delta variant,” Dr. Galvani said this morning a Mayor Bill de Blasio’s press conference.

     “This study shows that thousands of lives were saved and thousands of cases were avoided,” Mayor de Blasio said. “That history was altered by this massive vaccination effort.

     “Our study underscores that the swift vaccine rollout in New York City has played a pivotal role in reducing the COVID-19 burden and curbing surges from more transmissible, emerging variants,” Dr. Galvani said. “As the virulent Delta variant spreads among unvaccinated New Yorkers, it is more important than ever to get vaccinated.

     “The bottom line is that vaccination saves lives. The more New Yorkers who get vaccinated, the better for them, and for the rest of the city.”

     Last week, Dave Chokshi, New York City’s health commissioner said that “the vast majority of both new cases and hospitalizations are occurring for those who are not yet fully vaccinated.”

     Yesterday, BoroPark24 asked Dr. Chokshi whether people who previously had the original strain COVID are getting reinfected, particularly with the Delta variant, which now accounts for more than 50% of COVID cases in the U.S., according to Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, who is the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

     “Natural infection does provide good protection against all of the variants of the virus that are circulating in New York City, including the Delta variant, said Dr. Chokshi, who was diagnosed with COVID-19 in early February and  was vaccinated,  “but the best way to extend and augment that immunity is to get vaccinated.”

     “So, if you're someone like me who had COVID-19 in the past, my recommendation is for you to get vaccinated as well, because we do have evidence that [vaccinations] strengthen immunity, and it may extend the duration of immunity as well.

     “The Delta variant adds one more reason why it is so urgent to get vaccinated.

     “We have seen over the past 18 months how much the coronavirus is a formidable foe, and how it will find the cracks in our armor.

     “But we have the most powerful weapon to do something about it and protect ourselves with the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines.”

(Photos by: Darren McGee- Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)